This invention is concerned with weapons such as guns and more particularly with improved automatic firearms.
Automatic firearms enable the user to fire a number of rounds in quick succession. All of the functions of firing and reloading are performed by the weapon itself. That is withdrawing of the bolt, extracting a fresh cartridge, ejecting the spent cartridge case, forcing the bolt forward and inserting a fresh cartridge into the chamber are performed automatically. The energy of performing these functions is provided either by: the "blowback" force of the cartridge, the recoil or reaction forces of the cartridge and moving parts of the gun, the gas used to eject the projectile from the cartridge or combinations thereof. In any case it is the desire of the designers of such weapons to provide reliably operating guns that are relatively accurate, easy to handle, safe to use and that can readily be field stripped. Short guns are easy to handle. However, a problem with relatively short guns is that the barrel is relatively short and therefore accuracy is diminished. The designers of such weapons are continuously striving to obtain a relatively short gun for providing ease of handling but having a relatively long barrel for accuracy and penetrating power.
To decrease the manufacturing costs and to improve the reliability and ease of field stripping of automatic firearms, such as rifles, it is necessary that such weapons have as few moving parts as possible and certainly a minimum of external moving parts. For example, the usual gas operated automatic guns necessarily have moving parts not found in blowback or recoil operated types of automatic weapons since the gas operated weapons require the use of gas pistons.
The weapon designers for the noted reasons constantly strive to provide automatic weapons with a minimum number of parts. It is also a goal to provide guns that can easily be field stripped for maintenance purposes.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved automatic firearm in which the above-referred to disadvantages are substantially reduced or overcome and the above-referred to features are substantially provided.